South Georgia

As metro Atlanta grows, the population of rural Georgia shrinks. Photographer Brian Brown is documenting the architecture of the country before it disappears. He started where he grew up, and created the website “Vanishing South Georgia.” Now he has sites devoted to North and Coastal Georgia, too. We talk with Brown about what there is to learn from decaying houses and shuttered storefronts.

This summer, 27 so-called micronations gathered in Dunwoody, Georgia for MicroCon 2017. A micronation is defined as a small, self-proclaimed entity which claims to be an independent sovereign state, but is not acknowledged as such by any recognized sovereign state, or by any supranational organization. Vice News produced a documentary from the convention, which featured many micronations based within Georgia. We get the inside scoop from Vice Media Video Producer Oliver Noble.

Coal ash is a toxic substance. For years it was haphazardly dumped into rivers and ponds. Within the last 10 years or so, there has been a push to clean up the way coal ash is disposed. Georgia Power has vowed to close all its dump ponds. We talk with Chris Bowers, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. We also hear from Jen Hilburn of Altamaha Riverkeeper.

For most of us, our idea of politics is influenced by what we see on TV. Millions of Americans regularly watch shows like “The West Wing,” “Veep,” and “House of Cards." Georgia native Jay Carson worked as supervising producer and political consultant for Netflix’s “House of Cards.” We talk with him about how to write engaging political drama in 2017, and how much the fictional White House resembles the real one.

Hundreds of animals and their humans have evacuated to the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricultural Center in Perry, Georgia, ahead of Hurricane Irma.

Horses are welcomed with a free stall, three bags of shavings and access to the arenas. State veterinary regulations are suspended for animals coming from Florida and within the state of Georgia. As of Saturday morning, nearly 200 horses were on site, with at least as many humans tending to them. Barn managers say the facility can hold 350 horses in stalls, but no one will be turned away.

In South Georgia’s Wiregrass Country, a plaque in the town of Quitman marks a hanging place. It’s where, in August of 1864, four men were executed for plotting a slave rebellion. Over the next century, mob violence against African-Americans often erupted in South Georgia.

This is where our Senior Editor Don Smith was born and raised. He moved away in 1958. Don recently went back to his hometown to mark the anniversary of the Civil War hanging, and talk with longtime residents about how they remember the county’s history of racial violence. GPB's Emily Cureton reports.